Iridium Communications Launches Tri-Mode IoT Module Iridium 9604, Facilitating Large-Scale Deployment

Wedoany.com Report on Mar 3rd, Iridium Communications recently launched the Iridium 9604, a compact tri-mode IoT module that integrates satellite service, cellular connectivity, and GNSS positioning.

This module integrates Iridium's Short Burst Data satellite service, LTE-M cellular connectivity, and GNSS positioning onto a single platform, reducing solution complexity and cost, accelerating time-to-market, and making dual-mode IoT connectivity more feasible for price-sensitive, large-scale deployments.

Tim Last, Executive Vice President of Iridium, stated: "By integrating cellular, GNSS, and Iridium satellite into one efficient module, we provide our customers with solutions that are less expensive to design and deploy, smaller in size, more energy-efficient, and location-aware, without the burden of integrating multiple components. With our proprietary satellite IoT service and upcoming NB-IoT service, any IoT application considering going beyond terrestrial networks will prioritize Iridium."

The Iridium 9604 testing program, initiated earlier this year, was oversubscribed by a select group of companies and received positive feedback. Alastair MacLeod, CEO of Ground Control, noted: "As an early developer, using the tri-mode module significantly improved our product economics. We removed two components from the bill of materials, reduced the PCB size, and simplified the power architecture. The dual-mode connectivity option enables applications to implement smarter, location-based network selection, transforming complex designs into a single-module solution. This is a major breakthrough."

Dean Welten, CEO of Everlink, added: "Our customers require essential data and real-time intelligence to operate anywhere in the world. By integrating the Iridium 9604 with our secure cloud platform, we achieve global connectivity, higher operational efficiency, and measurable impact at scale."

As a new phase in Iridium's IoT strategy, the Iridium 9604 moves the company from traditional satellite-only modules towards a unified multi-mode connectivity architecture. Based on the u-blox SARA-R5 platform, the module measures 16mm x 26mm x 2.4mm and is suitable for dual-mode IoT deployments in industrial, infrastructure, and mobility applications. Commercial availability is planned to begin in June 2026, with development kits available for testing satellite and cellular services at that time.